Having good time – All by ourselves

Months passed by albeit slowly. We were unable to find an appropriate social circle in Sault. One of the major reasons was obviously our cultural differences. We love to get together, enjoy good food, play a few rounds of cards and talk about primarily Bangladeshi politics. We saw a handful of Indian looking people here and there but didn't have the opportunity to meet any families that we could mingle with. This is a rather complex thing to explain but usually happen spontaneously. We simply weren’t experiencing that connection. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the small city with vast country like look and feel. The roads were usually lightly crowded, malls less busy. We missed the usual social gatherings but started to get used to the usual benefits of the relatively smaller city life.

Summer had come and was rushing away faster than expected as the coolness was hinting of setting in. We tried to go around as much as we could, keeping little Zakeem in mind. Bellevue Park was one of our favorite destinations. Located right by the Saint Mary's river this park presented an unforgettable view of the river, international bridge and the water front establishments. A large population of geese and ducks were housed here during the summer time. Zakeem was very fond of them and his fearful attempts to get close enough to them for a pat on the back was pretty funny to watch. I like beaches, sea or lake, especially ones with shallow descent. So, we also visited the nearby beaches on Lake Superior whenever we found an opportunity. Among the two beaches that we used to go - Harmony beach in Batchawana bay and Points Des Chenes on Airport road - the later one had a better beach and an enclave like settings surrounded by woods.

In September or late August fishing frenzy gulps the town as the Salmon season starts. Not sure exactly what had motivated me but it could have been one of several things. I remember I enjoyed fishing as a little boy growing up in a remote village in Bangladesh where my grandparent's had their farm. That interest coupled with plethora of free time did create a clear opportunity for me to invest time and money into picking up the fishing hobby.

Back to work – Ah!

Our apartment was on the third floor of a three storied building. There were a few other similar apartment buildings in the close vicinity but the crowd was nothing in comparison to what we experienced in Toronto. Like most buildings in this cold country this also had a wooden structure. A finely trimmed lawn with several small gardens embraced it from all sides. The building backed into a small farm where we noticed several Lamas. These animals are like small camels – in case you haven't seen one.

The superintendent was a middle aged woman named Anna (not her real name). She was Caucasian like most resident in this city. During our whole stay we probably saw handful of Indians, even fewer Asians and doubtfully any blacks. Most people here was of European descend, primarily Italian. Anna seemed to be a nice lady and readily completed the minor formalities that were left before we could take possession of the apartment. The two bedroom apartment was small but very bright and sunny. Wasn't bad for a choice that was made over the internet without even seeing anything. The Toronto apartment where we resided before was so tiny that this one felt like freedom. I unloaded the car as quickly as I could and headed downtown to see Carlo.

OLG office building was located by the water front on Foster drive. A multi storied glass building, it was a distinct architecture among the other establishments in the vicinity. A wooden boardwalk flanked the river edge and went past by the marina, the hotel Sheraton and the covered big mall, accommodating a round fishing platform built over the rapid - a popular place for Salmon fishing during September-October, and a wooden bridge allowing the pedestrians and the cyclists to get access to another part of the rapids. Eventually these places became a regular grazing ground for me as I got caught into a fishing craze.

I saw Carlo on the fourth floor in his office. He was happy to see me and expressed his surprise with the fact that I was married with children. He probably didn't believe anybody with a life would agree to move to Sault from Toronto. He didn't know me well.

Initially the work load was light, often nonexistent but slowly things picked up. My first major project was to lead the system integration testing of the Bingo project - a very popular game in most part of Ontario. Due to the nature of the project this was a very draining task to ensure a defect free experience. During this time I met Scott, who was a member of Carlo's team. A friendly middle aged man with head full of gray hair he was good to talk to. He had been with the company for more than two decades, same as Carlo and had well adapted to the slightly leisurely life style of the distant city. His wife drove across the border to work in USA. This was a common thing among many Saultites (residents of Sault), as the US dollar had a better value than Canadian dollar.